Tag Archives: escape

Hope you all had a merry Christmas and sorry for leaving you hanging like an unopened Christmas stocking! I’ve been a bad blogger and officially missed two deadlines. My extenuating circumstances are Christmas and camping, so please forgive me. I left laptop and life behind to beat into the bush of Abel Tasmen, walking hours and hours into the wilderness and camping on beaches such as the one above. But words have still been dancing in my head and making their way onto paper, just waiting for some wifi… and here they are.

I discussed a few weeks ago why life is good, even when it’s not – but, however good life is, an escape can be wonderful. A change is as good as a rest, they say, and a rest from the whirlwind of 2013 was definitely required. It’s been emotional.

I won’t make a mad recap here – suffice to say, with t minus one week to go, the countdown to fleeing was *on*. The plan was in place (kind of); the budget was beat into submission (sort of); and come Saturday, we finally hit the road, after an early Christmas turkey with all the trimmings. A vegetarian turkey was even genetically engineered for the non-meat-eaters among us.

Don’t ask. Or do! It’s an… interesting recipe.

We steamrollered north. Amazing to feel the wind in my hair once more, footloose and fancy-free times ahead. Of course, there’s only so fancy-free you can be. There’s still rent to pay behind you, the price of petrol, tyre dramas, unexpected expenditure (more tyre dramas – hadn’t quite managed to replace the spare after our last eventful road trip); and, of course, camping’s arch nemesis – the weather.

But just as life is what you make it, so is an escape from it. Face inevitable chores and challenges with good humour and the rewards of rest and relaxation are yours for the taking. Let hitches and hiccups stress you out and you don’t stand a chance of a happy holiday.

Camping over Christmas was a joyful focus on the simple things in life – appreciating nature, finding food and keeping dry. It was fun to hunt mussels to cook for dinner and forget about the internet. It was less fun being damp and being bitten by sandflies. Overall, it was a good reminder never to take for granted a bed, a roof and something separating you from things that want to eat you.

I hope everyone’s having a fantastic festive season and enjoying some form of escape in the happiness of holidays and the felicity of feasting with family and friends! Has anyone else let some things on the to-do list slide? Who else has overeaten? What do vegetarians normally eat for Christmas?! Whatever you do or don’t do, whether you forget or don’t do it on purpose – don’t forget to have fun. Take a break and escape…